Obturators are devices that are well known in the minimally invasive surgical arts. Typically an obturator is used to surgically make a small entryway or passageway into a body cavity or a joint. Quite often obturators are mounted coaxially into cannulas. The combined obturator and cannula combination is inserted into the body cavity or joint, and then the obturator is removed; thereby providing a passageway into the body cavity or joint for use in a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Quite often, several cannulas are utilized since a minimally invasive procedure requires at least one cannula or entryway for a camera or other remote viewing device.
Although the obturators and obturator-cannula combinations known in the art perform their function in a satisfactory manner, there is need in this art for new obturators which can be used without a cannula to provide an entryway into a body cavity or joint.